The present invention relates to the heating of a fluidized bed for the purpose of generating gas from coal and steam under pressure.
The German Pat. No. 2,423,951 describes a generator of the type to which the invention pertains. The generator includes a stationary, cylindrical retort chamber being traversed by heating tubes. A perforated pan or trough divides the chamber into a flat, lower space and a high, upper space. The steam-feeding conduit terminates in the upper space or chamber, while coal is fed to the lower space. Also, residue as well as the useful gas are taken, i.e. extracted, from the lower space or chamber. Contoured rails support the pan. The heating tubes dip into the fluidized bed from above, in a meandering or hairpin-like configuration. These heating tubes are positioned so that the bending plane of their curved portions extends lengthwise to the axis of the retort cylinder. The heating tubes are manifolded, the manifold tubes being suitably supported in the upper space or chamber.
It was found that the suspension system for the tubes in this arrangement is not adequate and reliable, the load on the manifold tubes is too large.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to improve the manifold structure and its support for and in fluidized bed generators of the type referred to above.